A New Creature
by karkovice
Summary: This is a story I wrote for a friend of mine, who introduced me to the show. I was impressed not only by the fact that it included creatures that I have been fascinated with since early childhood, but also the remarkable CGI animation. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1  At The Game

**A NEW CREATURE**

**(A DINOSAUR TRAIN STORY****)**

**CHAPTER 1**

**AT THE GAME**

He arrived in Manhattan the day before. He managed to find his way to his hotel; and from there, he was to spend the next two days taking in the sights of New York City. This was his second trip to The Big Apple this year, but he didn't get to see much on that first trip. A huge snowstorm had blanketed the area dropping close to two feet of snow.

But he had good reason to be there during this time. His beloved hockey team, The Montreal Canadiens, were playing against the New York Islanders that night. Ever since he won the jackpot in the lottery the year before, he had decided to fulfill one of his life long dreams of seeing every Canadiens home and away game in a season! He knew it would be a harrowing journey covering many thousands of miles. Not only that, it would also be an expensive venture! But he had more than enough money to make this dream come true.

When everybody at his workplace heard the news of his incredible fortune, they were delighted and happy for him. When he told his boss he would be taking a two year sabbatical to "go live a little", he proudly shook his hand and wished him all the best.

It was another great victory for his beloved Habs! They beat the Islanders 6 to 1! Were it not for a mistake by goaltender Jaroslav Halak late in the third period that lead to a fluky goal, he would've gotten his third shutout of the year.

After the game, however, he had set out to meet Sparky the Dragon, the Islanders' mascot. When he first heard about it, Sparky wasn't too sure about meeting a Habs fan. He was even more puzzled as to WHY this die hard Habs fan wanted to meet him in particular; but, being the Islanders mascot, he knew he had to maintain that image of warmness, friendliness and openness all the kids and grown ups alike had of him.

After shaking the hand of this 5 foot 9 inch 230 pound French Canadian from some place called "New-Brunswick", they shared a conversation where Sparky asked the questions Luc must've heard many times before: What brings you here? How did you like the game? How do you like our city? Luc told him the same old spiel he told the other hockey team mascots he'd met all throughout his one year trip. But of all the mascots he's met, Sparky was the one he wanted to meet the most. When Luc told him this, this intrigued Sparky even more; and when Sparky asked Luc why he wanted to meet him most of all, Luc said he'd rather show him than tell him.

Sparky grew a bit nervous when Luc asked if they could go someplace private, but seeing how anxious Luc was to show him whatever it was he wanted to show him, Sparky took him to his private office. Luc wasn't the first fan he had brought into his office next to the souvenir shop. He also knew there would be security guards close at hand should Luc try anything. But he was a big male dragon who knew how to defend himself, if need be.

This was where Luc did something unexpected: He showed Sparky his true form! Under a growing pillar of light that slowly engulfed him, Luc revealed what was his true self! As it turns out, the human form Luc adopted for the outside world to see was just a protective shell for his dragon form. The light dissolved before Sparky's eyes to reveal a 10 foot tall bipedal dragon, deep red in colour, had leathery skin with black claws on his hands and feet, as well as two equally black coloured horns on his head that were swept back. His eyes retained their deep brown colour, and still looked strangely human, only much bigger.

He said his real name was "Karkovice", "Kark" to his friends who knew about his secret, and that he was a human/dragon shapeshifter; or a "weredragon". He always felt that his true form was dragon, but he walked around with his human form more often than his dragon form. Being a "workin' man", it was a part of the facade he portrayed to the outside world.

Upon seeing this, Sparky smiled slowly. Then he surprised Karkovice by running up and hugging him tightly and calling him "brother". Although Kark would've loved to have gone back to his hotel from there and sleep off the rest of the still ongoing snowstorm, Sparky invited him out to his favourite bar for some beers and nachos, and everything would be on him. Not wanting to pass up the opportunity for a freebie, Kark accepted Sparky's invitation. They stayed out until closing time sharing in the merriment, as though they were long lost relatives who found each other again. Sparky had so many questions for Kark, who did his best to answer them. Just for fun, though, he asked Kark to stay in his weredragon form so he could tell the joke to the bar patrons there that Kark was the "real Montreal Canadiens mascot", and that he was out to show him a good time in New York. This brought great pleasure to all those gathered at the bar, and Kark went along with it. Some even thought that his French Canadian accent was pretty funny!

Now, months later, Kark found himself back in New York. Unlike then, spring had just begun! The weather was surprisingly warm in Manhattan for this time of the year! The hockey playoffs were fast approaching. The Canadiens were in sixth place in the Eastern Division, and they had a chance to solidify their position against the Islanders, who were already out of the playoff race.

Sparky came to greet him at the hotel shortly after 6 o'clock that evening. After exchanging a hug with Kark, he said he'd've loved to have come see him sooner, but his job as the Islanders mascot kept him busy. "Understood, my friend!" Kark would smile and say.

From there, they'd spend a few hours at Sparky's favourite pub where they shared plenty of drinks, wings and nachos, and played pool for most of the night. Again Sparky had asked Kark to pretend to be the Canadiens mascot and change into his dragon form once more. Kark, being a member of two different pool leagues, became quite proficient at the game. He thought Sparky was not a bad player himself!

Afterwards, Sparky showed him some of the night life in Times Square. Kark never had a chance to see it during his first trip to New York; but now that he saw this famous downtown sight, he was blown away by it!

When it came time to retire, Sparky accompanied him back to the hotel where, just before leaving to go home himself, he said he'd leave a "little surprise" at the concierge's desk tomorrow for Kark's sightseeing adventure.

"What is it?" Kark asked.

"I can't tell ya. It'll ruin it." Sparky answered in his thick New Yorker accent. "But I promise ya, you'll never forget it..."

"Will you be coming along?" Kark asked.

Sparky smiled and shook his head. "No. My mascot duties won't allow me to. Besides, this will be for you and ONLY you... See ya at the game!" Sparky smiled mysteriously as he walked out of the hotel lobby, leaving Kark to wonder what kind of surprise his dragon friend has in store for him.


	2. Chapter 2 Doorway To The Past

**CHAPTER 2**

**DOORWAY TO THE PAST**

The next day, Kark went to see the concierge at his desk. He smiled as he handed the envelope with his name on it. He opened it up to see that there were a couple of New York subway tickets, as well as a few very odd looking train tickets. He also found a letter that read:

_Good morning, Kark!_

_As promised, this is my "little surprise" from me to you. I know you're going to love it! I'd love to come with you; but like I said, being the New York Islanders' mascot is a tireless job!_

_See you at the game tonight!_

_Your friend,_

_Sparky_

There was also a sheet of instructions as to where to go and how to use the tickets in the envelope. Armed with this envelope, Kark walked out of the hotel lobby and out onto the sidewalk wondering where this adventure will take him.

A short time later, he arrived at the subway station. According to the instruction sheet Sparky left him, he was supposed to go to a specifically numbered booth and give the boarding subway ticket to the attendant that was there. The usher smiled as he punched a hole in the ticket and directed him to the waiting subway train behind him.

From there, the next part of the instructions told him to get off at the third stop and to proceed up a flight of steps on his left.

A short time later, Kark arrived at the top of said steps where the next part of Sparky's instruction sheet said: _You'll see a set of wide double doors in front of you. Just walk through them._

He checked the instructions sheet again to reread the last part: _Don't forget to change into your dragon form before you enter!_

Kark muttered something in French which would translate to "What is all this!" Breathing a sigh, Kark did as Sparky asked. After making sure the area was deserted, he looked up towards the ceiling and closed his eyes. He then extended his arms to either side of him, and began his transformation. A swirl of light rose up slowly from the floor to surround him. A few seconds later, it lowered back down to disappear beneath the floor. Kark has just finished changing into his weredragon form. Sighing again, he opened up the large double doors and walked on through.

He was walking down a tunnel with fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling. A closer look told him that this wasn't a manmade tunnel, it looked more like a naturally formed cave that would've been pitch black, were it not for the lights on the ceiling!

He saw the light of an opening up ahead that told him he was almost at the entrance to the cave. When he emerged, he looked around and was deeply surprised to see that the area around him was heavily forested and filled with lush vegetation. He certainly never expected this! He thought he'd arrive in some obscure part of New York City and be led to some important landmark that was far off the beaten path. _Somehow, I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore! _He thought to himself. _This'd better be good, Sparky!_

He saw a building off in the distance. He realized it looked familiar. He took out one of the train tickets inside the envelope and compared it the building. He realized it was exactly the same! They imprinted the image of the building on the ticket, and he realized that what he saw was the train station he had to get to! He estimated it was probably a kilometer and a half away. Not wanting to waste any more time, he started walking towards it.


	3. Chapter 3  Meeting Laura

**CHAPTER 3**

**STATION AND TRAIN**

A short time later, he arrived at the station. He walked up the steps onto the platform set out for passengers waiting to embark onto the train. He saw he wasn't alone, though. He was quite shocked to see that the crowd waiting to get on the train were not people, but DINOSAURS. He saw several different dinos of all shapes, sizes and colours! A few had their children, or young ones, with them. Some glanced at him, but didn't give him a second look. He remembered that he was in his dragon form, so he didn't appear too out of place. _Where AM I! _He asked himself.

A male corythosaurus sidled up to him. Karkovice glanced sidelong at him as he approached.

"Waiting for the dinosaur train too, huh?" he asked Kark in conversation.

_They speak English! AMAZING! _Kark thought to himself. "Uhh... Yeah... I guess..." he said in answer.

"Thought so!" the male dino said. "Shouldn't be long now... If I know that conductor, he'll make sure it's here on time!"

Kark simply smiled at the dino. He wondered if he detected his French Canadian accent. Although Kark was not very proficient at detecting other people's accent, he knew this male dino did NOT come from New York City.

He heard a distant whistle. "Ah! It's coming..." The male corythosaurus said as he walked up towards the front of the platform.

Kark stayed behind to get a better look at this approaching train. His eyes grew wide as it came into view. The first thing that struck him was the odd design of this train! _Definitely not Via Rail... or the CN... _he thought to himself. Matter of fact, it looked to have been custom built for dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes! The locomotive had a smoke stack indicating it was some kind of steam engine. It looked to be a pretty rustic design, almost like a traditional train from the 1800s, not like the more modern diesel trains he was used to!

The train slowed to a stop. He followed the crowd as they moved up to the front of the platform. Then he saw what looked to him like a velociraptor type dino emerge from the passenger car door. "ALL ABOARD!" he cried as the passengers moved up to board the train. Kark chuckled to himself thinking that this must be the train's Conductor. He even had the tell tale red vest, conductor's hat and pocket watch of yesteryear!

He simply nodded to the conductor as he ushered him on board, but he didn't see the conductor do a double take on him as Karkovice boarded the train.

He found a seat large enough for him to sit in. He saw other equally large dinos move into seats all around him. He heard the air whistle sound just as the train started moving. He hoped that he'd be told where to go, or what his stop would be.

The double doors at the front of the passenger car opened to reveal the conductor. "Tickets! Tickets, please!" he called as he walked in. Karkovice searched in his envelope and took out the appropriate ticket. One by one, the conductor walked up to the passengers, took their tickets and punched a hole in them with his toe claw. _Better than an ordinary ticket punch! _He thought to himself with a smile.

When the conductor came up to him, Karkovice handed him his ticket without saying a word. He watched as the conductor's toe claw punched a hole in that simple piece of paper. The conductor smiled as he handed the freshly punched ticket back to him. Kark thought he must've given him the right ticket, as he didn't say anything as he punched it.

After he punched the last ticket from the last passenger at the back of the car, he cleared his throat. "Welcome aboard the Dinosaur Train, everybody!" he announced. "For those of you who are interested, there are plenty of refreshments in the snack car just beyond the observation car! Enjoy the trip!" He then disappeared through the double doors at the back of the passenger car. Karkovice assumed he was headed towards the caboose.

Not wanting to pass up the opportunity for a freebie, Kark got up to head towards the snack car. At least, he HOPED the refreshments the conductor spoke about were free. If there was any kind of currency traded in this world, Kark didn't have any; and Sparky didn't leave him any in his gift envelope. Though he wasn't one to beg, he could ask for handouts, if need be.

As he reached the double doors leading to the observation car, he was surprised by a large young triceratops running past him on his way to the snack car. Kark shook his head and sighed. "At least say 'Excuse me!'" Kark muttered to himself.

He arrived in the observation car and looked around. He noticed that there was no roof on the car. He concluded that it must be meant for larger dinosaurs who can't fit in the passenger cars, and it allows them to see the countryside as the train passed by. He also figured that they must put up some kind of plastic tarp whenever it rained.

He noticed that a rather large looking dark green T-rex type dino was already there. Upon close observation, he could see that this was a female, and was probably the largest predatory dino he had ever seen! He nodded to her politely as she caught his gaze. She smiled and returned the nod.

He then turned to look at the scenery from a bay window that was to his left. He saw a river of lava that came from a smoking volcano off in the distance. He felt the heat from it as the train passed over the bridge that was built over it. _I wouldn't want to be near that thing when it fully erupts. _Kark thought to himself.

He could hear heavy footfalls coming from his right. He could tell that it was from the large female T-rex type dino coming to greet him. He continued to gaze out the bay window as the female sidled up beside him. "Magnificent view, isn't it?" she asked him in conversation.

The look on Kark's face betrayed surprise as he turned to face the female dino, who flashed him a smile. "Yes… yes, it is!" Kark said in answer, as he recovered from his surprise.

"Please allow me to introduce myself: I am Laura… Laura Giganotosaurus, at your service, senor!"

In hearing her talk, Kark easily concluded that she was latino, coming from Argentina, perhaps. "Karkovice… Karkovice Drake!" He said as he smiled and extended a hand up to her for a shake.

The female dino Laura smiled and reached down to take the extended clawed hand of Kark. When she took it, he realized that she had a really strong grip. _Wow! A creature like this must have incredible strength! _He thought to himself.

"So is Laura Chico… How to you pronounce your last name again?"

Laura chuckled. "Giganotosaurus!" she said slowly.

"Gee-ga-no-toe-so-russ" Kark tried to repeat. "Is that the name of your species?"

Laura smiled and nodded. "It is! It means 'giant lizard'!"

_Amazing! These dinos even know what their names mean! _He thought to himself. "That's funny! I would've pegged you as being a rather large T-rex!"

"We are actually a distant cousin of the T-rex, and we are both really fierce predators!" She smiled, showing her sharp looking teeth.

_I don't doubt it! _Kark thought, silently swallowing the lump in his throat.

"I observe, however, that you are not from around here!" Laura continued.

"What makes you say that?" Kark asked defensively.

"Well… You look to be a predator, like me, but you have wings similar to a pterosaur…"

Kark unconsciously ruffled his left wing as he glanced at it.

"Yet they are not joined to your arms, like a pterosaur. I find that very curious! Plus, your manner of talking is not like the dinosaurs from around here; which betrays the fact that you are a foreigner. Am I right?"

_This dino is very observant! _Kark thought. _She's even detected my French accent in the way I talk! _"You could say that…" Kark smiled.

Laura beamed. "I thought so! And is… 'Drrraik' also the name of your species?"

Kark nodded. "Of sorts… I'm actually a 'dragon'."

"Draaa-gonnn? I can't say I have heard of your species before. I'd be interested in learning more!"

He noticing some passing dinos walk by reminded him of his original objective.

"Actually, we can talk more about that later. I was on my way to get some refreshments…"

"Oh! But of course, senor!" Laura said as she stepped aside to allow Kark to proceed to the snack car. "Hope to see you again soon!"

"Likewise!" Kark said as he smiled and nodded, then heard towards the snack car, which was on the other side of the observation car.


	4. Chapter 4 Meeting Mr Conductor

**CHAPTER 4**

**MEETING MR. CONDUCTOR**

When he arrived in the snack car, he saw a nice spread of various items to choose from laid out in front of him. He saw what looked like a tray of green leaves rolled around on a stick on one table; and on another table, some kind of greyish or dark brown meat slabs. He sniffed at it, and turned his head away realizing what it was. _Spoiled meat! _He thought to himself in disgust. _Who on Earth would wanna eat THAT! _Then he saw a young male T-rex grab a slab of the meat from the tray, toss it into his mouth and swallow it whole. _I guess HE does. _Kark thought. When he saw the T-rex turn in his direction, he immediately turned and walked away, not wanting to appear like he was staring.

He saw a large coffee pot in the corner of the room. He immediately moved over to the familiar beverage pot and poured himself a cup. He found some sugar cubes and coffee cream to add to it. After stirring the concoction thoroughly, he took a sip from it. _Not bad! _He thought to himself as he smacked his lips. He saw an empty table close by and moved to sit in one of the large seats in front if it. He passed the time by looking out the window at the lovely rolling scenery the train passed by.

Moments later, he happened to glance in front of him and saw the train's conductor approaching in his direction. At first, he thought he was moving up to the locomotive to tell the engineer to either speed up or slow down; but when he saw the conductor focus his gaze on him, he knew that he was coming to talk to him.

"Good morning!" The conductor said to him cheerfully as he tipped his conductor's hat.

Kark smiled lightly and nodded. "Hi." He said in a soft voice.

"I can tell you're not from around here."

Kark laughed. "Is it that obvious?"

"Well, I mean... it's not every day you see a dinosaur with wings like yours on the Dinosaur Train..."

Kark glanced back at his batlike wings as he ruffled them. "That's 'cause I'm not a dinosaur..."

The conductor was pensive. "Hmmm... Maybe... You're certainly no ordinary one... May I look at your ticket one more time, please?"

Kark fished the punched ticket out of his envelope and handed it to the conductor. He looked at it momentarily, then look up at Kark. "You wouldn't happen to be one of Sparky's friends, would you?"

Kark's facial features lit up. "You know Sparky!"

"YEEEES!" the conductor exclaimed. "Me and Sparky go WAY back... uhh... May I?" the conductor asked as he gestured towards the empty seat on the other side of Kark's table.

"Please..." Kark said as he smiled lightly, inviting the conductor to sit with him.

"As I was saying: I've known Sparky for MANY years! He sometimes sends some of his friends with these special tickets that allow them to travel anywhere they want to on the Dinosaur Train's route. How long have you known Sparky?"

Kark shrugged. "I've only met him this year..."

"Well, you must be a very special friend of his. He doesn't give those special tickets to just anybody! I guess you being the exact same species as he is helped you get these tickets..."

Kark smiled. "Maybe..."

"So how did you meet him?"

"I saw a New York Islanders hockey game earlier this year... Do you know hockey?"

"The Islanders, eh! I'm not surprised... Yes! I DO know hockey! Very similar to a game called 'Knock The Gourd' that my troodon cousins from up North play all the time..."

"Wait! Did you say 'true-dawn'? Is that the name of your species?"

The conductor smiled and nodded. "It is."

Kark let loose a laugh. "Funny... I thought you were a velociraptor..."

The conductor nodded. "You're not the first one to make that mistake. I'm actually a distant cousin of the velociraptor. Only difference is: They have feathers on their arms and legs, and they tend to run a little faster..."

"I never knew that!"

The conductor chuckled. "One thing about the Dinosaur Train: It's a great place to learn things! But YOU, you're obviously a dragon. Not the same colour as Sparky, but a dragon nonetheless! I don't think I got your name..."

"Karkovice..." He stuck out his hand for a shake.

The conductor smiled as he took it, being careful not to touch the sharp black claws. "A pleasure to meet you, Karkovice! Everyone around here calls me 'Mr. Conductor'. You'd might as well call me that, too!"

Kark laughed. "All right, Mr. Conductor..."

"Speaking of the Islanders, did you know that some of them actually came on the Dinosaur Train!"

"Really!" Kark said in surprise.

Mr. Conductor smiled and nodded. "Sparky loves sending people he knows has a certain fascination for dinosaurs, or have children that love dinosaurs! For example, not too long ago, Kyle Okposo actually came on the Dinosaur Train; same as Dwayne Roloson, his wife and their children; and John Tavares. He especially enjoyed being here! He's actually thinking of becoming an archaeologist when he eventually retires from hockey."

Kark shook his head and laughed. "Unbelievable!"

"OH! And there was another goaltender who came here... uhh... Dee-pee-eh-troh, I think his name was..."

"Yes, I know Dipietro. He's suffered too many injuries... It's doubtful he'll come back... But I've met all the players on the team... Sparky introduced me to them just before I left New York City last winter..."

"Well, that's an interesting story, Karkovice!" Mr. Conductor said, then he glanced at his pocket watch, and jumped. "OOH! Goodness me! You'd better get back to your seat in the passenger car! There's something coming up that you shouldn't miss..."

Not wanting to disappoint the conductor, Kark finished the last of his coffee and got up to follow his new troodon friend back to the passenger car.


	5. Chapter 5 Time Tunnel

**CHAPTER 5**

**TIME TUNNEL**

Kark and Mr. Conductor finally emerged through the sliding doors leading from the observation car to the passenger car. Mr. Conductor took a few moments to say "hi" to his good friend Laura Giganotosaurus, who happened to mention that she had met his new friend Kark earlier that day, and that they had a very pleasant conversation about their own respective species. In parting, Laura repeated how much she was looking forward to seeing him again and continuing the discussion they had about their own species' differences and similarities. Kark simply smiled and waved and said "'Till next time!"

"Laura's actually quite helpful to us on the train!" Mr. Conductor would say as they walked into the passenger car. "Her keen eyesight and incredible sense of observation allows her to spot any potential dangers to the train and their passengers, and warn us about it; like a fallen tree log on the train tracks, for instance. And she helps in turning the train's locomotive and cars around at the roundhouse in Troodon Town."

"Sounds like a fun job." Kark commented.

"Oh! It is!" Mr. Conductor said.

A chime coming from his pocket watch made him check it one more time. Clearing his throat, he called "TIME TUNNEL! TIME TUNNEL APPROACHING, FOLKS!" just as Kark regained his seat.

Kark looked out the window and saw the approaching tunnel. He also saw a strange looking rectangular spinning sign planted just in front of the tunnel's entrance. The train rolled inside and disappeared in a flash of light.

When the light dissipated, the outside scenery was replaced by a pitch black background with what looked like small shooting stars zipping past. It was a scene that was very familiar to Kark!

"Amazing, isn't it?" Mr. Conductor said as he walked up next to Kark.

Kark smiled. "It certainly is! It's as if the train was travelling at warp speed!"

"Warp speed?" Mr. Conductor asked in puzzlement.

Kark nodded. "Yeah... It's an expression from a sci fi show I love to watch called..."

Kark was interrupted by a second flash of light that engulfed the train. Moments later, the light dissipated to reveal more lush green scenery as they emerged from the time tunnel.


	6. Chapter 6 Meeting The Pteranodons

**CHAPTER 6**

**MEETING THE PTERANODONS AND FRIENDS**

"Next stop: Rexville station!" Mr. Conductor announced as the train emerged from the time tunnel. "If you wanna see all there is to see in Dinosaur Land, you'll wanna get off here..." he then said to Kark. "A good friend of mine is here today visiting a T-rex family. She brought some of her kids along... but don't worry, they're really nice. I'm sure they'd love to meet you!"

Kark was a bit apprehensive about meeting dinosaur children. He never really liked human kids to begin with. He imagined he'd like dinosaur kids even less.

"Her name is Mrs. Pteranodon! She can show you around..."

The sound of the train whistle could be heard as the train came to a full stop in front of the Rexville train station. Kark got up to exit the train, some other dinos also followed suit, including a few T-rexes.

Mr. Conductor stopped Kark just as he exited the train. "Just go straight ahead and take the path to your left. You should eventually meet up with Mrs. Pteranodon, her family, and the T-rexes. Don't lose that ticket, either! You'll need it if you decide to board the Dinosaur Train again to go to other areas of Dinosaur Land."

Kark glanced down at the punched ticket still in his hand. He then smiled at Mr. Conductor. "Thank you."

Mr. Conductor smiled back and tipped his hat to him. "OH! And say 'hi' to Buddy for me!" he called as Kark started to leave. Kark heard him cry "ALL ABOARD!" to the waiting crowd of dinos at the station waiting to board the Dinosaur Train.

He walked steadily down the path. All seemed quiet, except for the occasional odd sounds of creatures here and there. The distant sound of laughter, _children's _laughter, got his attention. Slowly, he approached the location the laughter came from. He rounded a bend and stopped as he saw them. There were four kids, two pteranodons and two T-rexes, a boy and a girl of each species, running around and playing what looked to be an improvised game of tag. The girl pteranodon cried to the boy T-rex "You can't catch me!" as she flew up away from his swiping hand.

There were two adult females looking on: One pteranodon and one T-rex. Kark assumed they must be the parents. He figured this must be the female Mr. Conductor spoke about: Mrs. Pteranodon. Kark swallowed the lump in his throat as he grew nervous. He always grew nervous whenever he met new people, but he never could really figure out why.

Shyly, he crept around the bend, approached the group of dinos, cleared his throat and said. "Uhm... Excuse me..."

Everybody stopped what they were doing and looked towards Kark. "OOH, my!" the female T-rex said as she placed a hand to her chest, her eyes wide in surprise. Nobody else said a word, though.

"I'm looking for someone named 'Mrs. Pteranodon'?"

"Well... I'M Mrs. Pteranodon..." the female flying dino said.

Kark showed a meek smile. "How do you do? My name is Karkovice. Mr. Conductor said I'd find you here." he said as he stuck his clawed hand out to the female flyer dino.

Mrs. Pteranodon hesitated before she accepted the handshake. "Well, pleased to meet you, Mr…. Khar-ko-veyess..." she said as she finally accepted his handshake.

Wait! Did you say you know Mr. Conductor!" the young T-rex boy said in surprise.

Kark smiled down at him. "Why, yes! You could say he's a friend of mine..."

"COOL..." the boy T-rex exclaimed with a smile showing his plentiful sharp teeth.

"Anyway..." Kark began as he turned his attention back to Mrs. Pteranodon. "I'm visiting the area and... Mr. Conductor said you may be able to show me around?"

"Well, you've certainly come to the right place!" the female T-rex said as she moved forward, her stomps echoing throughout the ground. "You couldn't ask for a better tour guide! By the way, I'm Dolores T-rex. How do you do?_" _she said as she bowed slightly.

Kark bowed back. "Madam…"

Mrs. Pteranodon squawked. "Well, I'd like you to meet my kids... This is Tiny, Don and Buddy..." she said in introduction to each of her brood. Kark was surprised to note that the young male T-rex was actually HER child. He figured she must've adopted him at some point.

"And this is my daughter Annie..." Dolores the female T-rex said.

"Hi!" she squealed as she waved to Kark.

Kark smiled and nodded.

"What kind of a dinosaur are YOU?" Tiny asked.

Kark smiled again. "I'm not a dinosaur... I'm a DRAGON..."

"Dragon?" Don scratched his head. "What's a 'dragon'?"

"THIS is a dragon..." Kark said as he gestured at himself.

"Oh..." Don said.

"You certainly don't look like any dinosaur I've ever seen before..." Tiny said.

"Like I said: I'm NOT a dinosaur... I'm my own species, if you will..."

"Hmmm..." Buddy was pensive. "Well, you've obviously got some dinosaur traits... I mean, you've got the sharp teeth of a T-rex, the wings of a pteranodon, and the tail of a quadruped... but the rest of you doesn't seem to be common to any dinosaur species... And I have a hypothesis!"

"He means he has an idea you can test..." Tiny said.

Kark laughed. "I know what 'hypothesis' means. If anything, dragons are highly intelligent! I certainly would like to hear about your hypothesis, Buddy!"

"You share dinosaur traits because maybe you're a descendant from a common ancestor. You're obviously a carnivore, given your sharp teeth. Plus the fact that your wings are not attached to your arms allows you to use them to your advantage when you hunt! Being a flyer, you must hunt your prey from the sky; and you can grab your prey with both your arms and legs as you swoop down to grab them. Your powerful jaws and sharp teeth allow you to easily bite into your prey that you capture. The size of your wings also supports your entire body weight while in flight, which I would say would be... around... two tons, at least... Your wings must ALSO allow you to fly pretty fast... And your horns are curved back against your head so that you don't encounter too much wind resistance, and they help you defend yourself should another dragon attack you from behind..."

Kark chuckled. "Kid's got potential..." he commented to Mrs. Pteranodon.

"He certainly does..." Mrs. Pteranodon commented.

"You're right, Buddy! But only partially... I'm not just a carnivore, I'm an OMNIvore; which means I can eat fruits and vegetables as well as meat... My wings not only allow me to fly, but also to hover..."

"You mean like this?" Don asked as he demonstrated.

Kark smiled and nodded. "That's right! Now let me show you how 'I' do it!" Kark then unfolded his wings and started to beat them. He soon rose straight up off the ground and hanged a few feet up in the air, maintaining a steady beat of his wings.

"OOOOOOHHH..." all of the kids said at once as they gazed upon Kark's extraordinary ability.

After a few moments' demonstration, Kark slowly settled back down to the ground.

"Although what you say concerning a dragon's hunting ability may be plausible, I've never actually tried it..."

"Huh? Why not?" Buddy asked.

"Yeah! You look like you could be a pretty fierce hunter! Way better than my mom and dad!" Annie said.

Kark smiled slowly, showing his own sharp teeth. "Well, Buddy, let me ask YOU a question: Do you have a hypothesis for THIS?"

Kark lifted his head, closed his eyes, and extended his arms to each side of him. A rising pillar of light engulfed him as his transformation began. The light was so intense that almost everyone his their eyes from it. When the light dissipated, everyone stared in wide mouthed awe at the sight before them.

"OOH my goodness!" Mrs. T-rex gasped.

Mrs. Pterarodon gasped as well.

The children were stunned speechless.

Instead of a ten foot tall red bipedal dragon, they saw a much smaller creature unlike any they've ever seen before! He stood about five feet nine inches tall, had beige coloured skin, wore blue jeans with a red coloured loose fitting shirt that had a strange white symbol on it and had a head of black hair.

"As you can see, I am more than just a dragon. I'm a human/dragon shapeshifter, or a 'WEREdragon', if you will. I come from Earth's future where a race of creatures called homo sapiens, or 'humans', are the dominant species. Everything is provided, in terms of food. There is no need to hunt or gather... except for fun, or recreation... This is the form I adopt to blend into that world... It has many wondrous things that you can't even BEGIN to imagine... and it's many eons away from now..."

Everybody was stunned speechless for what seemed like minutes. Then Buddy spoke up. "I only have one hypothesis which would explain how you did what you did: MAGIC!" he said as he raised a finger.

"Yeah..." Tiny said. "But how DO you do it!"

The human Kark smiled. "Many have asked me the same question." He shrugged. "I still haven't found a satisfactory answer. Except to say: I just think about it, and it happens..."

"That explains a lot!" Don chimed in.

Kark then changed back into his dragon form. "As great as my human form may be, this dragon form is the shape I like to assume most often!" he said.

He then spent the rest of the morning demonstrating his dragon abilities. They went to an area where there was a high enough cliff for Kark to come down to the ground as if he was way high up in the sky. They chose an old log as the "prey". Kark swooped down on the log, grabbed it with his huge arms and legs, and flew away with it, as if capturing it. He also bit down with his teeth on the front part while he was grasping, as if biting down on the neck of a sheep, or goat.

After that, Buddy was satisfied that that part of his hypothesis was tested with success. Then he moved on to the next part.

"The next logical step is to test to see how fast Kark can fly..."

"But Buddy, how do you propose we test THAT hypothesis? A race between he and mom?" Tiny asked.

"Hmmm..." Buddy was pensive, then he had a brainstorm. "I have an idea! Do you remember the ornithomimus twins, Oren and Ollie?"

"How could I forget THEM!" Don said as he rolled his eyes.

"We could visit them in Ornithomimus Corner, and have Kark race against them to see how fast he really is..."

"Wait! You said orno... what?"

"Ornithomimus!" Buddy and Tiny both repeated at the same time.

"It's ok, Kark! I can't say the word, either..." Don admitted.

Mrs. Pteranodon squawked. "That sounds like a GREAT idea! What do you say, Kark?"

Kark thought about it for a few moments, then smiled. "Hey! I'm game..."

"YAAAAAAYYYY!" Buddy, Tiny and Don all cried out simultaneously at once as they hi fived each other.

"And I think I know the quickest way to get there..." Mrs. Pteranodon said as she heard the familiar sound off in the distance.

"THE DINOSAUR TRAIN!" Buddy and Tiny exclaimed in joy.

"Me and Annie can walk you to the station..." Mrs. T-rex said.

Mrs. Pteranodon smiled. "We'd like that."

"Hey, mom! Can we ride on Kark's back while he flies us to the train station, PLEEEEEAAAASE?" both Buddy and Tiny begged.

"Well, that's up to Karkovice..." Mrs. Pteranodon said.

After a moment, Kark smiled. "I don't normally allow anybody to ride on my back..." Buddy and Tiny started to look disappointed. "But in this case, I can make an exception..."

"YAAAAAAYYYY!" they then cried as they jumped for joy.

He then bent down on all fours to allow them to hop on.

"Okay, kids! Are you ready!" he called to them.

"READYYYYY!" they said simultaneously.

"All right! HANG ON TIGHT!" Kark said as he started beating his wings to ascend into the air. Buddy and Tiny were giddy with laughter as Kark lifted them off the ground. Buddy even cried out "YEEEEE HAAAAAAHHH!" as Kark soared through the air. Mrs. Pteranodon soon took flight to follow behind while Mrs. T-rex and Annie broke into a fast run to keep up with them, headed for the train station.

They soon arrived at their destination. The train had just pulled up to the station's passenger platform as they landed. Annie and Mrs. T-Rex saw the Pteranodons and Karkovice off that they boarded the train, which soon left on it's way to the next train station.


	7. Chapter 7 Fun With The Orn Twins

**CHAPTER 7**

**FUN WITH THE ORN TWINS**

A short time later, they all arrived at Ornithomimus Corner, and it wasn't long after that before they found the Ornithomimus family; or rather, they found THEM.

"Hey, look! It's our friends the Pteranodon family!" Oren said as he appeared, then disappeared in front of them.

"Hi, Pteranodon family!" Ollie said as HE appeared and disappeared in front of them.

Then they focused their attention on Kark. "Look, Ollie! Do you see what I see?" Oren said as he startled Kark by appearing in front of him.

"Yep! I see what you see: A really strange dinosaur..." Ollie said as he suddenly appeared on the opposite side of Oren.

Then they switched positions. Kark only saw a blue blur in front of him. "How does he look from over here?" Oren asked his twin.

They switched positions again. "Hmmm... 'Bout the same..." Ollie said in answer.

They then zipped to the front of Kark, who put his hands up in the air. "Whoa... WHOA, guys! Slow down!"

Oren zipped to Kark's left. "Slow down?"

Ollie zipped to Kark's right. "We can't slow down!"

"You have to keep up with US!" they both said simultaneously. Then they laughed simultaneously.

Then a female ornithomimus suddenly appeared in front of them. "Oh, HELLO Pteranodon family! So nice to SEE you again!"

"Hi, Mrs. Ornithomimus!" Buddy, Tiny and Don said simultaneously.

Mrs. Pteranodon squawked "Nice to see you again, too! And we've brought a friend here with us to meet you..."

The female ornithomimus zipped to stand in front. "How do you do? I'm Mrs. Ornithomimus; and these are my twin boys, Oren and Ollie..."

"Very pleased to meet you!" they both said simultaneously.

"Uhh... likewise..." Kark managed to say. "I am Karkovice... A weredragon..."

"Weredragon?" Oren said in puzzlement.

"What's a weredragon?" Ollie asked.

"I'll tell you about it later..." Kark grinned.

"Well... 'better late than never' mom likes to say..." Oren began.

"Though were never late for anything..." Ollie continued.

"Because we're so FAST!" they both finished with a simultaneous laugh.

"Well, I guess we should show you around, then..." Mrs. Ornithomimus said.

"That's what I'm here for..." Kark smiled.

"C'mon, guys!" Oren said to the three Pteranodon children.

"Let's play!" Ollie cried.

"Don't go wandering off too far, boys!" Mrs. Ornithomimus called.

"We won't!" they called back simultaneously before sprinting off with a simultaneous laugh while Buddy, Tiny and Don struggled to keep up.

"So, Mr. Karkovice..." Mrs. Ornithomimus began. "Tell me a little about yourself..."

A short while later, everybody found themselves in a small clearing on the path. Buddy, Tiny and Don remembered it as the place where they had their racing games with Oren and Ollie when they first met them. Now, upon the insistence of Buddy, Kark indulged him by participating in some of the racing games to test his speed and abilities.

"I think we should start off with just a straight foot race to see how fast Kark can really run." Buddy announced.

"How do you propose we do THAT, Buddy?" Don said.

"Kark can race against one of the Ornithomimus twins... Preferably, the fastest... So, guys, which one shall it be?"

"We're both pretty equally fast..." Oren said.

"But I'M more eager to race against Kark!" Ollie announced as he ran in place.

Kark hardly saw Ollie's legs move! All he really COULD see was the dust that his feet kicked up.

"You can both start here..." Buddy said as he drew a line on the ground. "and you can race all the way up to that tree."

"Wait! Let me fly all the way to the tree so I can see who finishes first!" Tiny said as she took flight and landed at the foot of the tree which would be the finish line. "OKAY! WHENEVER YOU'RE READY!" she called and waved.

"Okay, runners, take your marks!" Buddy announced. Both Ollie and Kark took their places. Kark crouched down like a track runner while Ollie stood straight on his two feet.

"Get set!" Buddy called. Both runners reared up to leave. "GO!"

With that, Ollie took off like a flash while Kark sprinted as hard as he could. It wasn't long before Ollie took a big lead while Kark seemed to lumber far behind.

"And the winner of the running race IS..." Tiny began. "OLLIE ORNITHOMIMUS!" she announced as Ollie tagged the tree. "WHOO HOOOO..." he cried for joy as he jumped up and down.

Kark was panting for breath when he finally reached the tree and tagged it a few seconds later. "Wow! You really ARE fast!" he commented in between breaths.

"Okay, we've established that the ornithomimus are WAY faster runners than dragons..." Buddy said when they all got together to discuss what took place. "I think we should test the ornithomimus' running to Kark's flying next..."

"Yeah! I think Kark would win... he DID fly pretty fast to the Rexville train station..." Tiny said.

"All right! I'll let Oren handle this one!" Ollie said.

"Thanks, brother!"

"No prob!"

"Race all the way up to that standing rock over there!" Buddy said as he pointed.

Tiny immediately took flight to get to the rock and see who the winner would be.

"Okay, runners! On your marks... get set... GO!" Buddy called.

Oren soon took off sprinting while Kark took a running start, spread his wings and soon took flight. Oren took a commanding lead, but Kark slowly caught up with him. By the time they reached the rock, it was pretty close.

"And the winner by a nose is... KARK!" Tiny announced.

Kark swooped down for a landing next to Tiny and Oren.

"Great race, Oren!" Ollie said when he got beside his brother. "Too bad you don't have wings like Kark..."

"Yeah... I'll bet if I had wings like him, I could fly just as fast... Maybe faster still!"

They both laughed simultaneously.

"Okay... So although Oren got off to a quick start, Kark was able to slowly catch up to him to eventually win the race. Therefore, I conclude that dragons can fly faster than the ornithomimus can run!" Buddy would announce.

"Still, I was going full throttle..." Kark admitted.

Don blinked. "Yeah... but you're still a fast flyer... But 'I' still think that Buddy is the fastest of ALL of us..." Don boasted.

"Maybe..." Ollie said. "What say we do a relay race, like last time... Only this time, let's make it Kark and Buddy against me and Oren..."

"Buddy can run, and Kark can fly..." Oren said.

"Then we can see who's the fastest TEAM!" they both finished together.

"Sounds like fun! What do you think, Kark?" Tiny asked.

"Hey! I'm game..." Kark smiled and shrugged.

"AAAALL RIGHT!" Buddy and Tiny shouted as they high fived each other.

They've decided to run the relay race from the original starting point up to the free standing tree, then the relay partners would finish the race at the free standing rock. Tiny would be the referee of this race and determine the winner. Mrs. Pteranodon and Mrs. Ornithomimus would act as spectators.

Buddy, Tiny and Don showed Kark their "GO TEAM PTERANODON" handshake, in which he participated. The Ornithomimus twins did theirs where Kark only saw a blue blur as they did a series of improvised doughnuts. Kark was amazed at how fast those two are in short sprints, but he figured he'd probably have the edge in long distance flying compared to their running.

When everything was set, the race got under way! Buddy started the first part of the race with Ollie, while Kark and Oren would wait at the halfway point, which was the free standing tree, and complete the race once they were tagged.

Don grabbed a pair of bush branches, waved them in the air and sang the following. "Go, Buddy, GO! Run like the wind! You can do it... uhh... You're the BEST!"

Kark couldn't help but chuckle. "Don't quit your day job, Don!" he commented.

Don was confused. "Uhh... What's he mean by that?" He asked his mother.

She cleared her throat. "Well, Don... Maybe you should stick to collecting things and leave the family cheerleading to Shiny from now on..."

"Oh..."

Mrs. Ornithomimus gave the signal for the two starting runners to take off. Ollie soon took the lead, but Buddy didn't stay too far behind. "C'mon, Buddy! HURRY!" Kark encouraged. Ollie soon reached Oren and tagged him. He then took off in a flash to continue the second half of the race. Seconds later, Buddy was almost out of breath when he tagged Kark; who then sprinted and took flight. He pressed on with all his might! He saw Oren was running pretty fast, but he was slowly gaining on him. By the time they reached the free standing rock, it was pretty close.

"IT'S A TIE!" Tiny announced as she watched the two racers cross the "finish line".

"Great race!" Oren said.

"Thanks..." Kark said in between breaths.

When they all got together, Buddy discussed his final analysis. "So based on what we've seen here today, I can conclude that ornithomimus are way faster runners than dragons, pteranodons and T-rexes; but when it comes to flying, dragons can be faster than ANY of us."

"We've concluded the same thing!" both twins said simultaneously.

The distant sound of a train whistle could be heard. Mrs. Pteranodon squawked. "Oh! I hear the Dinosaur Train coming! Come on, kids! We'd better leave if we want to get to the train station on time. I think I know where we can take Kark to visit next..."

Where's that, mom?" Tiny asked.

"Deinonychus Depot!" she said.

"DEREK THE DEINONYCHUS ARTIST!" Buddy and Tiny exclaimed as they hi fived each other.

"Wait! Who?" Don asked.

"Derek!" Buddy said. "He's the one who made that model of the Dinosaur Train we gave you..."

"Oh, yeah..."

"But he's real nice! You'll like him!" Tiny said to her brother.

"Anybody wanna race to the train station?" the twins asked.

Kark laughed. "No, thanks. I've done enough racing for one day..."

"You guys go ahead... We'll catch up..." Don said politely.

"Okay..." then both twins took off with a simultaneous laugh.

"Yeah... in about a half an hour..." Kark said with a roll of his eyes.


	8. Chapter 8 Derek The Artist

**CHAPTER 8**

**DEREK THE ARTIST**

Later that day, they arrived at Deinonychus Depot, and it wasn't long before the Pteranodons found the Deinonychus family they had met on their previous visit. Mr. Deinonychus' barking of instructions to his son Derek made it easy for them to find where they were at.

After being introduced to Kark, Derek's parents decided to give him an extended break of his growling and toe slashing practice so that he can show Kark his art collection. Kark was amazed, however, at how quick Derek was with his toe claw. _If kung fu masters had toe claws, they'd probably move in the same way. _Kark thought to himself.

Kark could've spent hours admiring Derek's art collection, but he knew time was short, and that Mrs. Pteranodon would have other things to show him before he had to leave; so he simply admired the most amazing masterpieces. Derek, of course, was just as curious about Kark as he himself was about Derek's artwork.

"Amazing!" Kark commented. "And you did all this with your toe claw?"

Derek nodded. "I did."

"Incredible!" Kark said. He saw that the three Pteranodon children were admiring some of Derek's more recent creations. Don, this being his first time in seeing Derek's artwork, was especially mesmerized. Seeing that he was alone with Derek, he decided to brooch another subject with the youngster.

"I noticed your parents seem to think that honing your hunting skills is really important. Is that what you want to be when you're grown up?"

Derek sighed. "I don't know... They're both really good hunters, especially my father... I... I guess it's only natural for them to want me to be as good a hunter as they are... Just like I'm sure your father wanted you to be like HIM when you grew up..."

Kark nodded. "That's true... But my father wasn't a drill sergeant about it..."

Derek blinked. "Huh?"

Kark laughed. "Sorry... I forgot you've never heard that term before... Where I come from, we have a place called 'the military' where there is a very strict discipline... The way your father teaches you kind of reminds of what you may find there..."

"Mill-ih-teh-ree? Is that anything like a hunter?"

Kark nodded. "In a manner of speaking... But what I'm getting at is: You are free to make your own choice as to what you want to be when you grow up... My father is a school teacher, and I'm sure he would've liked nothing better than for me to follow in his footsteps; but I chose a different job when I grew up..."

Kark then placed a hand on young Derek's shoulder. "You are quite the _artiste, _which means you have a singular talent... Have you thought about becoming a wood carver? Or even a construction worker?"

Derek was surprised. "A _construction worker!"_

"Yes! I've noticed the train stations the Dinosaur Train stops at are made of wood... Therefore, someone must've built them... and someone must continue to maintain them... I'll bet they could use that 'terribly terrific' toe claw of yours(as Buddy likes to call it)..."

Derek was pensive as he brought his toe claw up and eyed it. "I've never even thought about that! I know it's mostly the troodons who work on building and fixing those train stations; but since my toe claw is way better than theirs at cutting wood, I think they MAY find me useful someday! Thanks, Kark, you've given me something to look forward to other than becoming a hunter!"

"Glad I could be of help..." Kark smiled as he patted Derek's shoulder.

"Hey! I just got an idea... How about if I carved something for you... as my way of thanking you... Maybe even TWO somethings!"

Kark beamed. "I'd like that very much!"

"Great! What would you like me to make for you?"

Kark immediately decided that his first carving would be of his likeness in the pose of "The Thinker". When he demonstrated the pose to the dinos, they all thought it was pretty funny. Kark explained to them that it was a famous sculpture made by somebody in his world a long time ago. Kark held that pose while Derek used his toe claw to carve his likeness out of a gourd. When he was finished, Kark was quite impressed by it.

For the second carving, Kark got a brainstorm. He thought about that famous image of the all star Montreal Canadiens goaltender Ken Dryden leaning on his goalie stick. An image that became known as "The Thinking Man's Pose"; and since Kark was an intellectual, it would only be fitting.

To make the image complete, though, he would need a goalie stick that was just his size. He found a large tree branch, and had Derek make it into a goalie stick. Kark described the dimensions of it, and Derek got it down to a tee.

With his new goalie stick in hand, Kark struck the famous pose for Derek to carve with. Since Kark was standing up, he chose a good sized tree stump to make the carving. When Derek was done, Kark was blown away! Derek had included every detail in the wood carving, right down to the claws on his hands and feet! Kark would have to remember to get the carvings varnished, or painted so that they would be protected, as he intended to keep them for a long time!

The telltale sound of the distant train whistle was the signal for the Pteranodon family to head for the train station and catch the Dinosaur Train which would take them to their next destination. Derek gave Karkovice a big farewell hug and thanked him for everything. Derek actually saw Kark as a second father; or at least a helpful uncle always ready to give sound advice to an eager nephew.

On the Dinosaur Train, Mr. Conductor was quite amazed by the carvings Derek the deinonychus made for Kark. He was especially impressed by the intricate details of the "Thinking Man's Pose" carving. "Further proof of how deinonychus claws are way better than troodon claws." Mr. Conductor would comment.


	9. Chapter 9 Desert And Terrace

**CHAPTER 9**

**DESERT AND TERRACE**

They made a brief stop at Velociraptor Valley so Kark can meet some real velociraptors face to face.

Since it was the middle of summer there now, the desert area was quite hot; and Kark, being a red coloured dragon, was more susceptible to the heat. They soon found Velma Velociraptor and her daughter Valerie. Kark was amazed at seeing the brightly coloured feathers they both sported. Kark had always believed that velociraptors looked pretty much like Mr. Conductor, but he was proven wrong upon seeing these two female dinos.

Valerie didn't lose any of her vanity since last time the Pteranodons met her, and she wasn't afraid to show off her beautiful feathers to Kark. Kark even commented at how beautiful and colourful they were. The narcissistic Valerie bowed and thanked Kark for his nice comment. Kark noticed that one of Valerie's feathers fell to the desert sand. He picked it up and asked Valerie if he could keep it as a souvenir. "Of course you can!" Valerie said. "I wouldn't want you to forget a gorgeous looking dinosaur like ME!"

"Oh, please!" Tiny muttered as she rolled her eyes.

Kark smiled. "Well, for sure I wouldn't! This is turning out to be quite an amazing trip!"

After noticing that the sun and the heat was starting to get to Kark, everybody moved to the shade of the Dinosaur Train station where they chatted some more until the Dinosaur Train came back to pick them up. Their next destination being their home on Pteranodon Terrace where Kark could meet the rest of the Pteranodon family.

While they were on the train, they met up with their old friend Ned the Brachiosaurus. Kark was amazed at seeing how big this young quadruped was! The Pteranodon children even commented at how much he'd grown since they last saw him! He was now almost as long as one of the passenger cars, and it was getting very hard for him to walk down the aisle! He had to give up his job as a Junior Conductor, as he had grown so big that he can't walk freely around the Dinosaur Train like Mr. Conductor because of his size. He wasn't discouraged, though! His father told him he'd soon find a job more suited for a big brachiosaurus like him.

A short time later, everybody arrived at Pterandon Terrace, and Kark was introduced to Mr. Pteranodon and their other daughter Shiny. Kark could see right away why she was called "Shiny". He even had to look away a few times, as the sun was reflecting off of her bright blue skin.

Since it was getting late in the day, the Pteranodons invited Kark to dinner. He realized that he had not eaten anything since this morning, and he was used to having regular meals. He couldn't refuse the opportunity of sampling some of the local cuisine.

Since the main part of their diet was fish, and Kark actually LOVED fish, that would be what's on the menu. They took him down to Pteranodon Lake where they'd show him how they caught their favourite food.

Mr. Pteranodon demonstrated how they caught the fish by hovering in mid air over the lake and then diving into the water once they spotted their prey. Mr. Pteranodon caught a few such fish under the cheers of his watching children. Buddy wanted to know if Kark could catch fish like his adoptive father could. Kark said he wouldn't hover over the lake like Mr. Pteranodon did, but said he'd try it from shore.

He waded into the water on the shoreline, then stood perfectly still. When he saw a few fish swim up close to him, he slowly lowered his head closer to the water, then jabbed at the nearest fish with his jaws. The children cheered at the good sized fish Kark caught. It frantically fought to get loose from Kark's jaws and eventually slipped out back into the water.

"AWW..." everyone cried as the fish got away.

Kark spat out the scales of the fish that were still in his mouth. "I don't like that method of fishing, anyway..." he said. "Let me show you how the native peoples of my country do it."

He found a long narrow branch lying nearby and used one of his claws to make the tip more pointy until he eventually fashioned himself a makeshift spear. Armed with this new weapon, he waded back into the water and used it to harpoon a few large fish for his own meal.

Afterwards, they learned something really unexpected about him: While they liked to eat their fish raw, Kark preferred to have them cooked in some way. Raw food, even sushi, turned his stomach.

"But how would you... cook... those fishes, Kark?" Buddy asked.

He eyed the volcano off in the distance, smiled to his friends. "I have an idea..."

A short time later, Kark was standing over a narrow crevasse where a lava flow was generating a constant heat. He had constructed a fire spit out of several branches, and was using the heat from the lava flow to cook the fish he had caught. The Pteranodon family, curious about the way Kark would cook the fish he caught, came with him to see this method for themselves. Buddy concluded that Kark was "a pretty ingenious dragon" for setting up something like this.

Kark simply smiled and said. "Well, I AM half human... Maybe that's where my ingenuity comes from..."

Satisfied that the fish were properly cooked, Kark gathered them up and went back to the nest where the family would all have their fish dinner.


	10. Conclusion Return To The Big Apple

**CONCLUSION**

**RETURN TO THE BIG APPLE**

Afterwards, Kark didn't want to waste any more time, as he felt he needed to get back to the future and New York City to attend the hockey game. The entire Pteranodon family escorted him back to the train station; and when the Dinosaur Train arrived, they exchanged goodbye hugs all around with well wishes and an invitation to come back soon.

"ALL ABOARD!" Mr. Conductor cried as he emerged from one of the passenger cars. Kark climbed on board and grabbed the nearest seat he could find. As the train whistle blew and the train started moving, the entire Pteranodon family waved to him. He smiled and waved back until the train rolled out of sight.

A short time after, Mr. Conductor emerged into the passenger car crying "Tickets! Tickets, please!" Kark fished the appropriate ticket out of the white envelope and handed it to the troodon once he got next to him. "Hmmm... Going back home, are we?" Mr. Conductor asked as he punched the ticket with his toe claw.

Kark nodded. "Yeah... Don't wanna miss the hockey game tonight..."

"So, how was your day in Dinosaur Land?"

"INCREDIBLE! I learned many things I never even KNEW about dinosaurs before!"

Mr. Conductor chuckled. "That's what Dinosaur Land offers you: Many opportunities to learn; and plenty of adventures to be had..."

"Yeah... If only I had more time..."

Mr Conductor was pensive. "Hmmm... I have a feeling we won't be seeing the last of you..."

"What do you mean?" Kark asked.

"I'll just let Sparky decide..." Mr. Conductor smiled and winked. He then moved off towards the caboose area before Kark could say anything else.

A short while later, Mr. Conductor emerged through the front double doors of the passenger car. "Time tunnel! Time tunnel approaching! Next stop: Cenozoic Station!"

Kark looked around and raised his hand. "Uhh... I'm the only one here..."

"OOPS... Sorry... force of habit..." Mr. Conductor said in embarrassment.

It was true that he was the only one left on the Dinosaur Train. Everybody else had gotten off wherever it was they needed to go. He was the only one headed to the station Mr. Conductor announced, which was in his time period.

"Want to see the time warp one more time?" Mr. Conductor asked.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" Kark smiled.

"Well... get ready... Here it comes!"

As the train disappeared into the tunnel under a flash of light, the scenery outside the train's windows was replaced by the pitch black background with intermittent flashes of light streaks that looked just like colourful shooting stars.

"Truly amazing, isn't it?" Mr. Conductor said.

"I could never grow tired of it!" Kark commented with his eyes glued to the window seat.

Moments later, the train reemerged from the tunnel and started slowing down until it stopped completely in front of the train station which was Cenozoic Station.

"This is your stop!" Mr. Conductor said as he guided Kark outside the passenger car. "Now, once you reach the path behind the station, keep to the left until you see the tunnel that goes underneath the mountain."

Kark nodded. "Got it!"

"Hope to see you again, Kark!" Mr. Conductor said.

Kark smiled and stuck out his hand. "Thanks for everything. It's been fun!"

Mr. Conductor gladly shook his hand and gave him the wink and the gun.

Kark was still smiling as he turned and left for the path he was told he had to go down. As he was walking down the path, which was parallel to the train tracks, he heard the sounds of the locomotive steaming past with the accompanying whistle. He waved to the Dinosaur Train where he was sure Mr. Conductor was waving at him. He watched the train disappear under the flash of light of the time tunnel that sent it back to the prehistoric era. He soon reached the tunnel disappearing inside the mountain that would lead him back to New York City where he would arrive just in time at Nassau Coliseum for the hockey game.

After the game, Kark met up with Sparky one last time. They went to his private office where Kark relayed the story of his incredible day in Dinosaur Land.

"Wow! Sounds like ya had an amazing adventure!"

Kark nodded. "It was! Who knew such a world existed?"

"It DID exist, Kark! What you saw was way in the past... 'round 70 million years ago..."

Kark blinked. "You mean... with the TRAIN and everything?"

Sparky laughed. "Oh, no! That's something they BORROWED from our time... I helped a bit with THAT."

Kark chuckled. "I'm sure you did!"

"SO, one last round o' beer and nachos at the pub?"

Kark politely shook his head. "No. My flight leaves for Raleigh, North Carolina early tomorrow morning, and I need to turn in early. Thanks anyways."

Sparky smiled. "All right... OH! One more thing..." He reached down into one of his desk drawers and pulled something out. "A departing gift..." He smiled as he handed it to Kark.

Kark examined it. "A key?" he said with a puzzled look.

"Not just ANY key, that's a MAGIC key... or a MASTER key..."

"What's it for?"

Sparky grinned. "I'm pretty sure the dinosaurs over there liked ya. Am I right?"

Kark nodded. "Yeah... you could say that..."

"Thought so... Anyway, that key opens up the doorway to their world... Use it anytime you wanna pay a visit to Dinosaur Land... Just insert it in the lock of ANY door, and it'll open up the porthole for you to just walk on through..."

Kark smiled slowly as he eyed the key. "Wow! I... I don't know what to say..."

"Hey! Just consider it a gift of eternal friendship from me to you..."

Kark grinned. "Thank you."

"C'mon... I'll walk ya to the doors... Don't forget your things!" Sparky said as he handed Kark's gifts from Dinosaur Land: The two wooden statues, the beautifully crafted goalie's stick Derek the Deinonychus carved for him, the velociraptor feather, and the Dinosaur Train punched tickets. Kark kept them in Sparky's office for safekeeping. Since Sparky wasn't there when he arrived for the game, he asked a kind security guard if he could store them there. The guard unlocked the door for Kark, but couldn't help but admire the find wooden statues that were in his possession. When the guard asked Kark about them, Kark simply shrugged and said that Sparky arranged to have them carved especially for him. The guard seemed satisfied with that answer.

Sparky stopped just before opening the door to his office. "Oh! I just realized... the guards are still out there... Maybe you should, uhh..."

"OH! Right..." Kark said as he realized he was still in his dragon form. He set his gifts down then proceeded to change back into his human form. Once it was complete, both walked out of the office.

When they reached the doors to the coliseum, they exchanged one last goodbye. "Hey! Sorry ya team lost tonight... But you're still in sixth place overall in the Eastern Conference, right?"

Kark nodded. "Yeah... I think so... But two nights from now, we're playing against the Carolina Hurricanes, and they've always been a thorn in the Canadiens' side ever since they started playing in the NHL..."

"Well... Ya always gotta believe... like I do when it comes to the Islanders..."

Kark smiled. "Yeah... I know..."

"So, you think you're gonna come back next season?"

Kark shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe... Hey! Thanks for everything..." He stuck out his hand.

Sparky pushed it aside and game Kark a big hug. "Take care, my friend!"

"You, too!" Kark reciprocated.

Then he walked out the doors of the Nassau Coliseum. Sparky watched him leave.

A short time later, Kark made it back to his hotel room where he crashed into bed and slept until his wake up call the next morning to catch his flight to Raleigh, North Carolina where he would take in some of the sights of the area before attending the hockey game between his beloved Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes.


End file.
